Richard Drew / AP

David Ranta is hugged by family members after Judge Miriam Cyrulnik freed him, in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday. Ranta, 58, who spent more than two decades behind bars was freed after a reinvestigation of his case cast serious doubt on evidence used to convict him in the Feb. 8, 1990 shooting of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger.

Richard Drew / AP

David Ranta, right, with his attorney Pierre Sussman, has his handcuffs removed after Judge Miriam Cyrulnik freed him, in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, New York, on March 21.

Richard Drew / AP

David Ranta is greeted by family members after Judge Miriam Cyrulnik freed him.

By Joseph Ax, Reuters

A New York man convicted of killing a Hasidic rabbi more than two decades ago was freed on Thursday after his conviction was vacated as a miscarriage of justice.

David Ranta, 58, spent 23 years in prison until the conviction integrity unit of the Brooklyn district attorney's office concluded after a year-long investigation that the case against him was fatally flawed.

"Sir, you are free to go," acting state Supreme Court Justice Miriam Cyrulnik told Ranta at a Brooklyn courthouse as relatives, including his daughter who was an infant when he was jailed, erupted in tears and shouts of joy.

Prosecutors had joined Ranta's defense attorney, Pierre Sussman, in asking Cyrulnik to vacate Ranta's conviction "in the interest of justice."

"The evidence no longer establishes the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," said Assistant District Attorney John O'Mara, the chief of the conviction integrity unit.

Ranta was found guilty of killing Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger on February 8, 1990, and stealing his car in an effort to flee following an unsuccessful attempt to rob a diamond courier. The crime rattled the Hasidic Jewish community in Brooklyn and prompted calls for swift justice.

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Richard Drew / AP

David Ranta kisses a family member after Judge Miriam Cyrulnik freed him, in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn, New York, on March 21.

This story was originally published on Thu Mar 21, 2013 7:45 PM EDT

Mike Groll / AP

Adam Bloss of Rochester, N.Y., an inmate at the Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, cuts ice blocks from Lake Flower to be used in the construction of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace on Jan. 28, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Mike Groll / AP

Inmates from the Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility line up before helping construct the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace on Jan. 28, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

By Michael Hill, The Associated Press

It's a far cry from breaking rocks in the hot sun on a chain gang. In New York's Adirondack Mountains, inmates break ice on a frozen lake to make a giant winter palace.

A work crew from an area "shock" prison camp once again this year helped local volunteers create this mountain village's lakeside ice palace — the shimmering centerpiece of the annual Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, starting Friday.

Under snowy skies this week, inmates marched onto the frozen lake in military formation in winter-weight prison greens and hard hats. Working alongside the volunteers, they were handed poles to break off blocks or head-high saws to cut through the ice. Others in the boot camp-style incarceration program were dispatched to the tall walls of the palace with buckets of slush to fit between blocks like mortar.

"Sir, yes sir! This is an experience of a lifetime, sir," said inmate Patrick O'Donnell. The 24-year-old from Long Island, like all inmates at Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, answers questions like a new military recruit.

"Sir, where I live there's not much snow, so to see something like this is an experience, sir."

Moriah, about 45 miles from Saranac Lake through twisting mountain roads, houses a six-month shock program designed to build character and self-esteem.

Prisoners convicted of nonviolent offenses like burglary, forgery or drug sales can shave months or years off their sentences by successfully completing a shock program — but it's tough. Inmates wake up at 5:30 a.m. for intense days of exercise, academics and substance abuse treatment.

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Mike Groll / AP

Volunteer Jeff Branch, top, and inmates from the Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, work on the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace on Jan. 28, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Mike Groll / AP

Inmates from the Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, wearing green, work with volunteers breaking off ice blocks from Lake Flower that will be used to construct the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace on Jan. 28, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Mike Groll / AP

Naquan Shideo from the Brooklyn borough of New York, an inmate at the Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, uses slush water to seal ice blocks while helping construct the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace on Jan. 28, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Mike Groll / AP

Inmates from the Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility, wearing green, work with volunteers breaking off ice blocks from Lake Flower that will be used to construct the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace on Jan. 28, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Mike Groll / AP

An inmate from the Moriah Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility cuts ice blocks from Lake Flower that will be used to construct the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival ice palace on Jan. 28, in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

Related links:

• Puppy training: Future service dogs head to maximum-security prison
• New York's shock camps claim to keep inmates out of prison
• A rare look inside San Quentin state prison
• America's only all-female chain gang toils in Phoenix heat

Mariana Bazo / Reuters

An inmate and his bride kiss during a mass wedding ceremony for prisoners at the Lurigancho prison. Although Lurigancho prison is one of the most overcrowded, violent, and unruly jails in Latin America, its more than 8,500 prisoners live with so much freedom inside the walled perimeter that they have created their own city which mimics the urban society on the outside.

All photos by Mariana Bazo / Reuters

Prisoners take part in a theatre workshop in the Lurigancho prison in Lima.

An overview of the Lurigancho prison in Lima.

Inmates participate in an Independence Day parade dressed in uniforms and carrying mock rifles.

An inmate gives a haircut inside the Lurigancho prison.

A dog runs on the roof of a wing at the Lurigancho prison.

Lurigancho Prison in Lima is where Joran van der Sloot was tried for killing a woman in Lima in 2010, five years after American teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba after spending time with him. 

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Jeff Hinckley / Columbus Dispatch via AP

A supervisor at the Belmont Correctional Institution at St. Clairsville walks by giant rolls of paper used for the production of toilet paper at the facilty, Wednesday, January 25, 2011.

Jeff Hinckley / Columbus Dispatch via AP

Inmates at the Belmont Correctional Institution at St. Clairsville work on the production of toilet paper at the facilty, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2011.